Political Science Commons^™

A Comparative Analysis Of The Transitional Effect Of Democratic Regime Change On Human Rights Development, Alana Mcelhinney

Political Science Theses and Capstones

It has been a long-standing topic of discussion within the field of political science on the extent to which the establishment of democratic regime characteristics influences the development of human rights. While there is considerable research in the areas of democracy and human rights, what the literature lacks is research towards the growth of democratic regime characteristics being causal to the development of human rights practices. This analysis shows that a transition in democratic regime characteristics is directly linked to the development of human rights. After completing case-study analysis and developing causal theory I take data from the years 1981 …

Media, Military, Militarism: Media Consumption, Awareness Of U.S. Military Foreign Policy, And Support For War, Daniel James Patten

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between the media, attitudes towards supporting war, and military awareness. Online survey data were collected from a four-year university located in a heavily militarized area. This study found that having knowledge of Afghanistan and Iraq War facts negatively affected one's decision to support war and was the strongest predictor of this decision. The media was not found to be a significant predictor impacting this knowledge when controlling for other variables. Political ideology and other related variables were found to be more influential of this knowledge. These findings imply that the public may be imprudently supporting …

The Staffing Of Presidential Assistants: Their Effects On Presidential Success In The House Of Representatives, Nicholas R. Jesteadt

Student Publications

This paper examines the Congressional success of United States Presidents based on the reported Congressional Quarterly Presidential Box Scores. Their individual success is examined as an effect of the senior staff member a President chooses and whether they are chosen from the campaign, personal experience, or previous administrations. It is important for a President to consider the origins of these staffers as these Assistants to the President act as the body of the President’s administration. The econometric analysis presented reveals several interesting results. First, the predominance of a President to choose staff members from his campaign shows no significant impact …

A Legal Interpretation Of North Korea’S Nuclear Program, Justin Farber

Global Tides

This paper analyzes the North Korean nuclear situation in a legal framework while assessing potential policy options for the international community. The recent change in North Korean leadership leaves spectators in question as to the new dictator’s agenda and goals. Reviewing the history of the state’s nuclear program in regard to international treaty law is fruitful in gauging how, if at all, law limits the state’s behavior. The introduction briefly explores the history of the situation before advancing into the paper’s four sub-sections. The first sub-section assesses the requirements set out by the IAEA Statute and the NPT and North …

The Politics Of H-1b Visa Limits, Fang Fang

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In recent years, the number of H-1B Visa (Temporary Work Visa) issued has increased tremendously. Various lobbying groups are devoted to persuading Congress to revise immigration laws and to increase the work visa issuance cap. The purpose of my study is to find out the how the H-1B Visa policy is effected by analyzing the lobbying expenditures of different economic sectors. Although there are abundant studies on the factors that affect immigration policies, there are few studies that concentrate specifically on the H-1B Visa. I combined campaign finance data and annual work visa data to assess the relationship between lobbying …

Unemployed Veterans During A Recession: Factors Affecting The Completion Rate Of The Vocational Rehabilitation And Employment Program, Chris Witt

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The purpose of my research is to determine what factors affect the outcome of the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program. Previous literature examines individuals from each state in various stages of the program to determine which factors cause their individual outcome. Although previous research covered a broad spectrum of factors there still remains a lack of significant evidence to determine the observed outcome. I added state expenditures to the previous data to attempt to determine whether or not there is a correlation between funding and the completion of the program. I used the Department of Veteran Affairs 2007 Veterans Employability …

The Effects Of Tribal Governments On Reservation Poverty Rates, Heather Raisch

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Poverty rates on Indian reservations are far higher than the national average. Since Tribal Governments have at least some control over these reservations, to what extent are they to blame for these higher than average poverty rates? I look at each reservation and their type of government, constitution, policies and demographics to analyze the causes of their poverty as it relates to tribal government. There are many other pieces of research that are similar to this, but none looking specifically at the overall effects the government has on its community. My hypothesis is that communities with higher poverty rates tend …

Facebook Changing The Face Of Voting: How The Internet And Social Networking Sites Affected Youth Voting Behaviors In The 2008 Election, Aleesha M. Larsen

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Since the eligible voting age was changed in 1972 to include 18-21 year-olds, turnout has been historically low for the youngest group of American voters. But, the 2008 election got young people to swarm the polls, resulting in one of the highest turnout rates, among the youngest age cohort, in history. The Obama campaign was the first to successfully use social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter, to help mobilize and persuade young voters. In this study, I attempted to find how significant of a role in the Internet played in convincing voters aged 18-24 to vote in 2008, especially …

Libya: A Multilateral Constitutional Moment?, Catherine Powell

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Libya intervention of 2011 marked the first time that the UN Security Council invoked the “responsibility to protect” principle (RtoP) to authorize use of force by UN member states. In this comment the author argues that the Security Council’s invocation of RtoP in the midst of the Libyan crisis significantly deepens the broader, ongoing transformation in the international law system’s approach to sovereignty and civilian protection. This transformation away from the traditional Westphalian notion of sovereignty has been unfolding for decades, but the Libyan case represents a further normative shift from sovereignty as a right to sovereignty as a …

Sierra Leone's Peaceful Resistance To Authoritarian Rule, Robert Press

Faculty Publications

This study examines the nonviolent resistance starting in 1977 that students, lawyers, journalists, women's organizations, and others, mounted against repressive rule in Sierra Leone, a country known to many mostly for its violent civil war (1991–2002) and “blood diamonds” that helped fuel it. The study argues that social movement theories, though developed in the West, can help explain such resistance–but only with some revisions. The resistance in Sierra Leone took place without the kind of exogenous “opportunities” and resources normally associated with movements in the democratic West. The study offers alternative explanations that expand the usual concept of social movements …

National Identity And The Education Of Immigrant Youth In Spain, Kathleen C. Mautner

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines the present-day educational policies enacted by Spain in response to the country’s growing immigrant populations, specifically by comparing the policies implemented in two of Spain’s distinct autonomies. The thesis ultimately argues that the regions’ differing conceptualizations of national identity and their distinct relationships to the central Spanish state play a fundamental role in their motivations to enact comprehensive and effective policies that promote immigrants’ educational and social success.

A Forecast For The Middle East: The Reemergence Of An Islamic Caliphate In The Midst Of The Arab Spring, Jennifer M. Basselgia

Senior Honors Theses

The Middle East region is inherently volatile and associated with radical religious behavior. Beginning in December of 2010, a Tunisian street vendor inspired a wave of revolutions and protests launched by the people of many Middle Eastern countries, demanding regime change and democratic ideals. This season of revolution, dubbed the Arab Spring, has been characterized as both a period of Enlightenment in the Arab world and a cause for concern for Western powers.

This thesis will approach the Arab Spring in light of the ideologies and influences swarming into the power vacuum left by the recently deposed governments. It will …

Autism Insurance Coverage : Which State Policies Work And Why?, Elizabeth Ivy Homan

Honors Theses

In the spring of 2011, Virginia's legislature passed its first autism insurance mandate via Senate Bill 1062 and House Bill 2467. As a legislative intern for Senator Janet Howell - the primary sponsor of SB 1062 - I was able to track the mandate from beginning to end. I observed conferences between Senator Howell and representatives from autism advocacy groups, I sat in on various Senate and House committee meetings, I carefully reviewed changes in the mandate's text when Senator Howell compressed her two original autism bills into one new bill in order to match Delegate Greason's HB 2467, and …

Pax Arabica?: Provisional Sovereignty And Intervention In The Arab Uprisings, Asli Bâli, Aziz Rana

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reluctance Or Power Hunger: Whom Do Voters Prefer? A Test Of The Wary Cooperator Theory And Evolutionary Political Behavior, Timothy Collins

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Do voters prefer political candidates who express reluctance to seek office, or do voters prefer candidates who express great ambition and an implicit hunger for power? This study uses an experimental design to test overall support of reluctant or power-hungry candidates, and discusses which people would select which candidate and why. While limited by the survey design, the evidence suggests that there is no significant overall mean difference for overall support of either candidate. However, personality traits and the degree to which participants perceived certain descriptive attributes of the candidates both play a role in vote likelihood and candidate favorability …

From Boon To Bust: State Lottery Policy & How Stakeholder-Created Beneficiary Fund Structure Determines Vulnerability To Future Legislative Grabs, Lisa Mathews

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Funding K-12 education is one of the largest public expenditures for most states in the U.S., and Nebraska is no exception (Nebraska Department of Administrative Services, 2011). Since the 1960s, the policy of state-enacted lotteries has slowly but steadily spread throughout the country with all but seven states now operating a lottery to benefit a range of community and social programs with Education being the most common beneficiary (Novarro, 2002). Since the Nebraska lottery’s inception in 1993, about $400 million has been raised for these primary beneficiaries and other beneficiaries on a smaller scale. Legislative and Constitutional changes have left …

Neural Basis Of Egalitarian Behavior, Christopher T. Dawes, Peter John Loewen, Darren Schreiber, Alan N. Simmons, Taru Flagan, Richard Mcelreath, Scott E. Bokemper, James H. Fowler, Martin P. Paulus

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Individuals are willing to sacrifice their own resources to promote equality in groups. These costly choices promote equality and are associated with behavior that supports cooperation in humans, but little is known about the brain processes involved. We use functional MRI to study egalitarian preferences based on behavior observed in the “random income game.” In this game, subjects decide whether to pay a cost to alter group members’ randomly allocated incomes.Wespecifically examinewhether egalitarian behavior is associated with neural activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the insular cortex, two regions that have been shown to be related to social preferences. …

Bears, Baby Carrots, And The Colbert Bump: An Analysis On Stephen Colbert's Use Of Humor To Set The Public's Political Agenda, Dominique Mckay

Masters Theses

In recent years, political satire has risen in popularity and recognition as an effective means of transmitting political news to a younger generation of voters. This recent development brings forth new questions about the role of political satire in setting the public's political agenda. Using Agenda-Setting Theory as a framework, this study takes The Colbert Report, one of the most popular satire television shows of this generation, and analyzes it for a possible political agenda. In the end, what this study finds is that in the six weeks leading up to the 2008 U.S. presidential election The Colbert Report chose …

How Blacks Became Blue: The 1936 African American Voting Shift From The Party Of Lincoln To The New Deal Coalition, Daphney Daniel

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Despite the vast research done on the African American influence in the Democratic Party, comparably little has been done on what led them to become part of the Democratic Party in the first place. This study offers an overview of the rich political history of the African American experience from the 15th Amendment’s ratification in 1870 to the 1936 presidential election. My research will reveal how Republican apathy, depression era desperation and Roosevelt’s charismatic message of relief and hope played a vital role to the historical shift of the African American voting bloc from the Republican to the Democratic Party.

Our Covenant Constitution: The Covenantal Nature Of The United States Constitution, William T. Crabtree

Senior Honors Theses

The problem with the national government and politics in the United States today is that citizens and politicians have both forgotten, ignored, and undermined the nature and significance of the U.S. Constitution as a civil covenant based on civil and religious liberty and limited government. This thesis proposes to analyze the nature of the Constitution as a civil covenant and how a proper interpretation and application of it as such can solve many of today’s most pressing political problems. It will discuss the nature and history of civil covenants, examine the mechanics of the Constitution in the creation of a …